BIDEN/LUGAR Applaud House Passage of Global HIV/AIDS Bill
Bill Now Heads to President’s Desk for Signature
July 24, 2008
Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed by vote of 303-115 – without amendments – legislation sponsored by Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joe Biden (D-DE) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN), to authorize $48 billion for global HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis programs for the next five fiscal years. The bill, entitled the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, passed the Senate on July 16, 2008 with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 80-16.
“In 2003, we launched the largest public health program the world had ever seen and it had a dramatic impact, saving millions of lives,” said Senator Biden. “We’ve made tremendous strides, but our work is not nearly finished. Two million people died last year of HIV/AIDS. Over two and a half million people died of malaria and TB. That’s over 10,000 people killed per day – per day – because of these diseases. These are mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers – whole families have been devastated, whole communities have been affected. It is our moral obligation to lead this global fight against these diseases. This legislation is a product of bipartisan and bicameral compromise and shared commitment to saving lives worldwide. We are proud to send this bill to the President’s desk.”
“Reauthorization of PEPFAR shows bipartisan consensus to stem the tide of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria worldwide. As Americans, we should take pride in our nation’s efforts to combat these diseases. I look forward to President Bush signing this bill into law as a further signal of U.S. commitment,” said Senator Lugar.
Senators Biden and Lugar’s legislation (S. 2731/H.R. 5501) specifically:
Authorizes $48 billion to combat global HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis over the next five fiscal years;
Sets ambitious targets for saving millions of lives through HIV/AIDS treatment, care, and prevention and the training of health care workers;
Removes earmarks that had constrained the effectiveness of our programs and provides for a flexible approach to helping countries combat their local epidemics;
Strengthens efforts to address the special vulnerabilities of girls and women to HIV/AIDS, prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to children and expand access to treatment for children;
Substantially increases U.S. assistance to prevent and treat malaria through insecticide treated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying, access to anti-malarial drugs and other tools;
Expands efforts to combat tuberculosis including the growing problem of drug resistant strains of TB; and
Repeals the legal ban on visas for persons infected with HIV.
